Senior Philanthropy Engagement Advisor, Multiple positions

The Cities Alliance is a global partnership promoting the role of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and managed by a Secretariat based in Brussels, the Cities Alliance is a unique partnership with a diverse membership, which is committed to strengthen developmental impacts through improved coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader with a strong track record in grant making, that supports strategic city planning, slum upgrading and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Through UNOPS, the Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund supported by an efficient, and flexible grant-making mechanism with a global reach. 

The Cities Alliance is now seeking a Senior Philanthropy Engagement Advisor to be responsible for the development and implementation of a new Cities Alliance partnership strategy with the philanthropic universe. Specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for identifying private foundations, High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) as well as Corporation with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, engage and cultivate those relationships, and lead the development and negotiation of bespoke partnerships and ultimately donations. The role will be outward-facing looking to build and acquire the highest-value philanthropic partnerships for the Cities Alliance.

Private Foundations, HWNI and Philanthropic Corporations Prospects: Identification, Cultivation and Funding: 

• Lead the strategy development process for Cities Alliance in engaging with the Philanthropies and mobilise internal and external support for it.

• In line with the organisational values and mandate, identify and develop a realistic prospect list of private Foundations, High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and corporations with philanthropic programmes (CSR) as potential donors to the Cities Alliance.

• Develop cultivation plans for the prospect pipeline in collaboration with Cities Alliance senior management. 

• Engage key prospects (private foundations, HNWI, corporations) by leading on targeted events, meetings, missions, and communications, ensuring that all necessary research, due diligence and cultivation plans are implemented.This should be done in close cooperation with the communications and the programme leads. 

• Lead the development and negotiation of bespoke partnerships with the identified private foundations, HNWI and corporations. and ultimately donations to the Cities Alliance.

• Explore options to engage private foundations, HNWI and corporations in the governance of the organisation and as ambassador to the mission of the Cities Alliance consistently with the relevant ethical policies.

• Provide senior stewardship for all partner Foundations, HNWI and corporations, sending bespoke updates, including them in all relevant activity and ensuring regular contact with the organisation.

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field such as Economy,  Business Administration, Public Administration, International Development, Finance, Engineering, Urban Studies, Political Sciences or related fields required.
• A combination of Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

• Minimum ten years’ of progressively senior experience in philanthropies and/or in positions requiring cultivation and management of high value philanthropic partnerships is required.
• Experience in fundraising with private Foundations, HWNI corporate philanthropies (CSR) is required.
• Understanding of urban development issues and/or related sectors such as Urban Infrastructure, Urban Services (WASH, Energy, Waste), Strategic Urban Planning, Slum Upgrading and Housing, Local Economic Development,  Environment and Climate Change Gender and Women Empowerment, Migration, is highly desirable.
• Experience in project development and proposal writing is highly desirable.

• Full working knowledge of English is essential. 
• Fluency in one or more additional official UNOPS languages is an advantage. (UN Languages are Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, English, French, Russian, Spanish).

[Instructions: Please delete this paragraph and insert relevant information below:

1. Contract type INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT (ICA)
2. Contract level: INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIST LEVEL 3*
3. Contract duration: Ongoing RETAINER up to 60 working days per calendar year subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.